JapanSoc / Top Stories

Pet dead? Let a mobile crematorium take care of the rest

pocky — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:25:24 PST

Temples customarily handle the business of taking expired pooches and kitties to that big pet park in the sky, but there's another convenient option: mobile pet crematoriums. For animals less than 1 kilogram, PET 594 CAR will do the deed for 15,000 yen.

Posted by pocky in Culture | Socs: 8

Custom Barcodes Japan-Style

zonjineko — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:12:28 PST

Since 2005, D-Barcode has been creating custom barcodes for a mostly Japanese clientele. Great idea and worthwhile after spending so much designing packages only then to have to put an ugly barcode rectangle over it.

Posted by zonjineko in Technology | Socs: 13

Evangelion 2.0 – A mind blowing experience

hikky — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:16:27 PST

A spoiler free review of Evangelion 2.0 after watching the movie at the premiere in Munich last Friday.

Posted by hikky in Anime & Otaku | Socs: 13

Terror-proof subway vending machines

Japandra — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:07:54 PST

Security is tight for Obama's visit - even the drink machines are on guard.

Posted by Japandra in Food and Drink | Socs: 15

World Heritage Site in Japan that is not a temple | Iwami Ginzan

gotanda — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:06:27 PST

Get way off the beaten track in Shimane to visit an area full of natural beauty and history. It is worth the trip.

Posted by gotanda in Sightseeing | Socs: 12

Australia at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

reesan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:26:48 PST

A complimentary post to my guest post on jamaipanese.com about Australia's participation at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Contains a interesting factoid about legendary Australian swimmer, Dawn Fraser, who was arrested but released without charge in 1964 after she stole an Olympic flag from a flagpo

Posted by reesan in Sport | Socs: 12

The shops of Yokohama Station

Locohama — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:24:52 PST

Kumi: You must mean Moore's?
Me: Not Moore's…Moore's is the one with the Starbucks on the second floor, right?
Kumi: That's right! But Cial has a Starbucks on the second floor, too…Do you mean near Cial?
Me: No, no, no, it's closer to the other exit, maybe the East exit…I always confuse the Ea

Posted by Locohama in Culture | Socs: 11

Haikyo of a haikyo- relics of Kamaishi Iron Mine

bigreddot — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:43:27 PST

Iwate's last ruined mine- gorgeous photos of the ruins of the ruin.

Posted by bigreddot in Nature & Outdoors | Socs: 14

Why its illegal to be fat in Japan

ukfishfingers — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:39:25 PST

As the health care debate rages in the US, Tokyo lawmakers set a maximum waist size. At 85 centimeters (33.5 inches) for men and 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) for women. Are you too fat for Japan?

Posted by ukfishfingers in Strange | Socs: 24

A Look back at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

jamaipanese — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:29:03 PST

Tokyo was the host of the 1964 Summer Olympics winning the rights to the Games in 1959 in the IOC's first round of voting over bids from Detroit, Vienna and Brussels.

Posted by jamaipanese in History | Socs: 18

Ichihashi arrested - details

Michael — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:54:36 PST

A more detailed article outlining the long overdue arrest of suspect Ichihashi. See the Japan Probe article in another post for a video interviewing Hawker's father.

Posted by Michael in News | Socs: 21

Lindsay Hawker Murderer Arrested

Nick — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:29:34 PST

The only suspect in the murder of English teacher Lindsay Hawker in 2007 has been arrested and confirmed as Tatsuya Ichihashi.

Posted by Nick in News | Socs: 21

Stunning High ISO images from new Nikon D3s

zonjineko — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:54:24 PST

Amazing high ISO test shots from the new Nikon D3s camera. Both Nikon and Canon have released cameras recently that push the boundaries of what were previously considered almost impossible at the high end of ISO.

The shots show acceptable (just) quality images even at an ISO of 102,400.

Via

Posted by zonjineko in Technology | Socs: 11

An evening stroll through Ginza (銀座)

acase — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:23:33 PST

Some photos of Ginza in Tokyo at dusk on a day with really good weather.

Posted by acase in Sightseeing | Socs: 17

Deaf Japan

caughtredhanded — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:22:11 PST

A look at the history of deaf people in Japan, their language, their culture, and the society in which they live today.

Posted by caughtredhanded in Society | Socs: 15

Is Technology Dumbing Down Japanese?

zonjineko — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:42:52 PST

A NYTimes.com article about the affect that technology is having on the Japanese language and more specifically on the written language.

I sure hope Japanese never gets dumbed down to any point resembling the English language. I like it just the way it is - give or take 3-4k kanji ^_^

Posted by zonjineko in Culture | Socs: 16

The Sad Animals of Ueno Zoo

mikesblender — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:07:05 PST

I'll come right out and say it, I don't like zoos. The idea of keeping wild animals in small, boring and ugly cages just for the purpose of entertainment is fairly repulsive to me...

Posted by mikesblender in Photography | Socs: 21

Akihabara killer sends apology letter to victim

shio — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:34:41 PST

Tomohito Kato, the killer in the stabbing rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district last year, reportedly sent an apology letter to one of his victims, former taxi driver Hiroshi Yuasa. According to the Japan Times, Kato said he "reached the conclusion that I should apologize as a human being."

Posted by shio in News | Socs: 16

Why are there so many Japanese in Brazil?

zonjineko — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:38:15 PST

I was having a play around at WolframAlpha recently and did a quick search for "Japanese language" and found that over 400,000 people speak Japanese in Brazil so I dug around some more to find out why.

Am I the only one who wasn't aware of the Japanese-Brazilian connection?

Posted by zonjineko in History | Socs: 17

We have LOLcats and FAILblog - Japan has this

KenYN — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:50:49 PST

Got this one off Watashi to Tokyo. Interesting, although an occasional NFSW pops up.

Posted by KenYN in Strange | Socs: 30

The Yen and the Dollar - Do I Send Money Home?

ForeignersFinan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:06:51 PST

A look at the difficult decision of savings when it comes to the yen and dollar exchange rate.

Posted by ForeignersFinan in Business & Economy | Socs: 12

A Photo-essay on the Yukata

Muza-chan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:21:29 PST

In Japan, old and new are joined not only in architecture, but also in the dressing style. One of the main aspects I love about Japan is the fact that it is one of the few modern countries where the traditional dressing is still "trendy".

Posted by Muza-chan in Fashion | Socs: 22

Hideki Matsui is the MVP of the 2009 World Series

hideisalive — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:42:36 PST

After tieing the record for most RBIs in a World Series game, Hideki Matsui has been named the MVP.The Yankees defeated the Phillies in 6 games.

Posted by hideisalive in Sport | Socs: 13

Girl-next-door to wicked stepmother?

Japandra — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:42:52 PST

November's "Do it at Home" poster: back to makeup.

Posted by Japandra in General | Socs: 19

What to Eat and Where to Eat It in Fukuoka

fukuokadreaming — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:10:59 PST

Fukuoka is a food lovers paradise, so here is a short list of what you must eat when you visit Fukuoka City! Ittadakimasu!

Posted by fukuokadreaming in Food and Drink | Socs: 11

A Chat between a Japanese and an American on the Taiji Dolphins after Watching “The Cove” | achikule!

achikule — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:10:52 PST

This is a conversation between two people after watching the documentary, "The Cove," a real-life-mission-impossible-mission to film the dolphin slaughter/harvest in a small cove in Taiji, Wakayama.

Posted by achikule in Culture | Socs: 12

Shimokitazawa: End of an era?

shio — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:28:53 PST

Tokyo's neighborhood of Shimokitazawa faces some big changes: redevelopment plans will completely transform the area, running a 26-meter-wide thoroughfare through its center and connecting it directly to Shibuya and the Kan'nana ring road. Work will only start in 2010, but the design for the new

Posted by shio in Business & Economy | Socs: 16

What to follow on Twitter? A list, of course!

Michael — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:31:10 PST

Here's my tongue-in-cheek recommendation for a Japan and Japanese-related Twitter list to follow. Check it out - you might find someone new and interesting to follow!

Posted by Michael in Technology | Socs: 13

Abandoned Hotel At Lake Kawaguchi

WideIslandView — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:07:18 PST

At the foot of Mt. Fuji sits Lake Kawaguchi. Once a great tourist destination, now many places sit abandoned. We take a look inside one such hotel that has seen better times.

Posted by WideIslandView in Photography | Socs: 15

NHK Launches Reproduction-Free Internet Video Library

shio — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:06:46 PST

Japanese public TV broadcaster NHK launched an online video library on Saturday consisting of several thousand video and sound clips collected from the broadcaster's program archives. All content can be used free of charge and without any user registration required.

Posted by shio in Internet | Socs: 12

Test Your Fluency in Kanji for Geeks

InvisibleGaijin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:23:13 PST

Mona Nomura (@mona), noted geek blogger/twitterer, creates a brilliant juxtaposition of kanji and geekiness that tests your visual imagination and knowledge of geeky stuff in one highly amusing post.

Posted by InvisibleGaijin in Learning Japanese | Socs: 16

Harsh truths of Divorce in Japan | The Japan Times Online

jonallen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:28:39 PST

Sad tale of Richard Cory. If he divorces his wife he loses all rights to see his three children.
It would be interesting to hear her side of the story too.

Posted by jonallen in Culture | Socs: 21

Recycling in the Edo-Period « Quirky Japan Blog

edjacob — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:45:25 PST

Translation of an interesting Japanese article about how there was no garbage in the Edo Period. Everything got recycled, from umbrellas to scraps of paper to human excrement.

Posted by edjacob in History | Socs: 18

Ideas for Kimono

kimonobox — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:22:15 PST

Some cool chairs and wall hangings. Anyone else fashioned something out of Kimono?

Posted by kimonobox in General | Socs: 12

Hakata Lantern Festival

fukuokadreaming — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:09:32 PST

Strolling down Hakata during the Lantern Festival can prove to be an enlightening experience.

Posted by fukuokadreaming in Photography | Socs: 15

How to write kanji - stroke order

seifip — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:19:24 PST

When a student is taught kanji, one of the first thing that is explained to him is the concept of stroke order-the one and only correct way of writing kanji characters. Unfortunately, the reason behind it as well as the main rules are often left undiscussed. Most students are left wondering about w

Posted by seifip in Learning Japanese | Socs: 14

It's raining cats (on statues in Ikebukuro station)

bigreddot — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:58:48 PST

Catman strikes again in his neverending mission to garland all the statues of Tokyo with kittehs!

Posted by bigreddot in Strange | Socs: 21

Japan's Concrete Coast

mikesblender — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:54:37 PST

Sometime back in the 1960s, the idea of 'stabilizing' coastal areas; protecting them from erosion, became en vogue. However by the 80s, most countries figured out that concrete shores, walls and 'tetrapods' as those huge 4 pronged jacks are called, actually speed up erosion, not prevent it, and

Posted by mikesblender in Nature & Outdoors | Socs: 29

Japanese TV on your Computer With KeyHoleTV

saikyo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:35:12 PST

Watch Japanese TV on your computer with KeyHole TV!

Posted by saikyo in TV & Radio | Socs: 18

Japan: When Your Wife is Sick

KenYN — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:03:20 PDT

Advice from fellow housewives about whether one should ask your husband to look after you when ill.

Posted by KenYN in Work | Socs: 19